Friday, June 8, 2007

You don't have to be Jewish.

Yiddish for ad people.
ALTER COCKER: An old and complaining person, an old fart. “If you don’t pay attention to the Crispins of the world, you become an alter cocker.”
BISSEL, BISSELA: A little. “Your type looks like crap, kern it a bissel.”
BUPKES: Nothing. Or something worthless or absurd. “Three hours I spent in that brainstorming and I got bupkes out of it.”
CHAZEREI: Something awful, junk or garbage. “That brief was nothing but chazerei.”
CHUTZPAH: Nerve; gall, as in a person who kills her parents and asks for mercy because she is an orphan. “The account people have a lot of chutzpah bringing that chazerei they call a brief to the meeting.”
DRECK: Shit. Can refer to the ugliness of objects or people. “Dreck in, dreck out.”
FERBLUNJIT: Lost, mixed up. “The brief was dreck so I’m feeling ferblunjit.”
FERCOCKT: All fucked up. “This is fercockt. We got briefed yesterday and the meeting is tomorrow.”
FERMISHT: All shook up, as in an acute disturbance. “What a lousy meeting we just had. I’m all fermisht.”
FERSHTINKINER: A stinker, a louse. “The fershtinkiner account people drive me up the fershtinker wall.”
GAVALT: A cry of fear or a cry for help. Oy Gevalt is often used as expression meaning "oh how terrible."
GAY AVEK: Go away, get out of here. “Until you sell some work, gay avek.”
GELT: Money. “They don’t pay me enough gelt to do this dreck.”
GONIF: A thief, a tricky clever person, a shady character. In new business, sometimes a gonif or two can be invaluable.
HOK A CHAINIK: To talk too much, to talk nonsense. “A 158-page deck? Those Account people hok a chainik.”
KISHKA: Intestines, belly. To hit someone in the "kishka" means to hit him in the stomach or guts. “When I see a good ad, I know it in my kishkes.”
KVETCH: To annoy or to be an annoying person, to complain. “I wish he would stop kvetching and get down to work.”
LOCH IN KOP: Literally a hole in the head, refers to things one definitely does not need. “Ferstinkiner clients like them I need like a loch in kop.”
MACH SHNEL: Hurry up.
MACHER: An ambitious person; a schemer with many plans. “That new Account Woman is a real macher. She gets things done.”
MAVEN: An expert, a connoisseur. “He never did an ad in his life and he acts like a maven.”
MAZEL TOV: Good luck, usually said as a statement of support or congratulations. “You sold a new campaign? Mazel tov!”
MEGILLAH: Long, complicated and boring. “Don’t make such a megillah out of it—just give me the top-line.”
MENSCH: A person of character. An individual of recognized worth because of noble values or actions. “I’m lucky to be in her group, she’s a real mensch.”
MESHUGGE or MESHUGGINA: Crazy, refers to a more chronic disturbance. “Those Account People are driving me meshugge.”
MISHEGOSS: Inappropriate, crazy, or bizarre actions or beliefs. “What is all this mishegoss, I just want to do my work.”
NEBBISH: An inadequate person, a loser. “He tries, but when you get right down to it, he’s a nebbish.”
NOODGE: To bother, to push, a person who bothers you. “He’s such a noodge, I star-dee his calls.”
OY VEY: "Oh, how terrible things are". OH VEZ MEAR means "Oh, woe is me".
PISHER: A bed-wetter, a young inexperienced person, a person of no consequence. “I’ve got 25-years experience and no little pisher is going to tell me what to do.”
PUTZ: A vulgarism for penis but most usually used as term of contempt for a fool, or an easy mark.
SCHLOCK: A shoddy, cheaply made article, something that’s been knocked around.
SCHMALTZ: Literally chicken fat. Usually refers to overly emotional and sentimental behavior. “Oy, the ad is so schmaltzy.”
SCHMUCK: A vulgarism for penis, strong putdown for a jerk, a detestable person.
SHLEP: To carry or to move about. Can refer to a person, a "shlepper," who is unkempt and has no ambition.
SHMEGEGGE: A petty person, an untalented person.
SHMOOZ: To hang out with, a friendly gossipy talk. “Come over to my cube so we can shmooz.”
TCHOTCHKA: An inexpensive trinket, a toy.
TSIMMES: A side dish, a prolonged procedure, an involved and troubling business, as in the phrase, "don't make a tsimmes out of it."
TSORISS: Suffering, woes. “These hurricanes are causing real tsoriss.
VER CLEMPT
: All choked up.

2 comments:

ambitious said...

Gentiles everywhere, not just in Ad Land, can use this translation guide. Thank you, my friend, for inviting us in.

Moda di Magno said...

FERSHTINKINER remains my favorite of all time.